All My Life, I Have Been Falling Into You
by triojediknights
Summary: In the wake of The Rise of Skywalker, I have studied FinnRey ships that have come out after that movie. Most of them run full-tilt away from Reylo, complete with windmill arms. As a still passionate Reylo myself, I am not going to do that - Rey and Ben's love must be acknowledged... even as we open the possibility that Rey can find love again. Please read, review and ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1: Start Fresh

**Chapter 1: Start Fresh**

The hydraulic steam was just dissipating from around the _Millennium Falcon_ as Rey Skywalker strode down the gangplank onto the slick stones of the landing platform on Ahch-To. The sky above the remote island planet was ominously overcast, but a hint of rain had yet to appear. That didn't mean it wouldn't; Ahch-To reliably caught rain for a clear majority of days of its cycle. Already, she could see streaks of brown, saturated earth mixing against the stone - clear signs of erosion from previous heavy rains. The air was crisp, and cooling rapidly; dusk was probably but a half hour away.

"Rey!" The Jedi turned back to find her best friend, an ex-Stormtrooper and her new Padawan apprentice power-stepping down the ramp after her, careful not to let his feet slip on the metal, which was already becoming slick with the sea spray crashing up from the nearby rocks. Coming to her side, Finn stopped and stared. "This is it?"

She side-eyed him, a smirk playing at her lips as she fought to not betray her amusement. "Expecting more, were you?"

He must have thought her tone too sharp, for Finn began rapidly shaking his head in a rather adorable way, as if he feared he had offended her. "No, no, that's not it at all! It's just... remote. I would have expected the site of the first Jedi temple to be more... ostentatious."

Rey chuckled at this, shaking her head, even if she didn't quite know what the fancy word meant, though she could hazard a guess. Having been in the Stormtrooper Corps, Finn was a learned man; it was a shame his sharp intelligence had been dampened by conditioning to serve the former First Order. Shouldering her staff - significantly shorter after she had sacrificed some of it to build her golden lightsaber - and gathering the parka cloak around herself against the harsh sea winds, she began to cross to the first steps of the imposing staircase to the island's peak. "Well, come on, my young apprentice. It will be dark soon, and the Caretakers haven't exactly lit this path with artificial lighting."

Rey's year of Jedi training had built up her body and its endurance; by the time, they were nearly at the top, she was barely winded. Behind her, she could sense Finn, huffing and puffing - he had foolishly expended most of his energy early just to keep pace with her. It was almost as if he wanted to... impress her. She sensed the feeling coming from his Force essence, and she had to bite back a smile of affection. Oh, Finn...

It had been the first joy she had felt in days, upon returning from burying the Skywalker twins' lightsabers on Tatooine. Finn must have seen her for that first day or two after she got back to base, moping around and privately grieving, for he quite suddenly marched up to her one day and spat it out, as if that alone might cheer her up. He was Force sensitive. And indeed, the news that she wasn't alone had made Rey happier, if only for a little while. She had immediately offered to train him, if not so much for his well-being than her own. Taking on a Padawan apprentice would make for a nice... distraction. Distraction from nights, desperate to sleep, moaning and crying tears into her pillow, only to then wake up sharply hours later in a cold sweat on those rare occasions when Rey was so fortunate enough to drift off. He had tormented her in every waking moment - sometimes aggravatingly, more times wonderfully - and now he haunted her dreams. _Ben_. Her lost love, and even thinking his name sent an icy pang through both her heart and the gaping wound in her soul where he had once been, where he still should be. Oh, to be a widow before she even had the chance to be a bride... The chance to be a proper wife... For Ben Solo to make an honest woman out of her...

She felt Finn's aura brush up against her mind soothingly, but also tinged with bemusement, and she locked down her thoughts tight, her cheeks turning pink. She had never told Finn about her forbidden, doomed love affair with Ben Solo, nor about the one stolen kiss the star-crossed lovers had graced against each other's lips. It was an open question as to whether that most intimate of secrets would ever come out. After all, Rey's sweet love had once been Kylo Ren - a man whom Finn had been forced to serve. Rey didn't know how kindly Finn would take the news that she had been in love with the enemy; Poe Dameron's tolerance would be even less so. Their pilot friend was brash and quick to anger, and at the moment had a lot on his mind, rebuilding the galaxy, missing Zorri Bliss (his own lady love) and now missing his two best friends.

Rey crossed over the final step, cresting into the open stone courtyard ringed by tiny huts. A few moments later, she felt and heard Finn join her. Again, he was trying to hide how hard he was breathing, leaning against a natural stone obelisk casually to hide how much he needed to rest his aching muscles.

"Huh... what a good hike," he huffed. Rey smirked at him amusingly.

"Just be careful I didn't make you run them this time." The over-confident grin on his face disappeared in favor of confused horror immediately and Rey trilled out a laugh. The sound was nearly drowned out by an especially loud clap of thunder, and she giggled at how Finn jumped at the sound. Rey knew she shouldn't be so teasing at his expense - when she had first heard a thunderclap, not long after arriving herself on the island, she had screamed, nearly scaring Luke Skywalker out of his wits. Taking pity on him, Rey looped an arm through his.

"Squall's moving in fast. We'd better move indoors."

She left the hut that had once been Luke Skywalker's respectfully untouched and empty. Directly across the way was a pile of rubble where one very special hut had once been. Rey tried not to glance at it, but her eyes would not obey. Even a quick scan of it caused a lump to catch in her throat, send her mind reeling back to another stormy night like this. Where a frightened little boy and a lonely little girl had touched hands over a blazing fire - and, for the first time, find comfort in each other...

"Uh... Rey?" Finn's voice snapped Rey out of her thoughts, forced her to wipe the dampness that was most definitely not rainwater off of her cheeks. "Is that a... TIE fighter?"

She followed his gaze, looking out of the cliffs and down to one craggy embankment, where the charred remains of a First Order TIE fighter still sat. Rey had once intended it to be her final vessel, to guide her to a marooned life on this island. She had been foolish then: if she had stayed here, she would not have defeated her grandfather Palpatine, nor had that now-cherished moment with the man she loved...

She nodded solemnly, her expression passive and stubbornly blank. "I flew that here and set it ablaze, after leaving the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir." The sentence alone made her think back to the wild thoughts which had coursed through her mind on that equally wild ride: thoughts of disbelief and fear. The disbelief that she had actually confessed her love to Ben Solo and the fear of not knowing if he felt the same. She had run from him in stunned terror before even giving him a chance to bless or curse her with an answer. Turning away, she gestured to a nondescript hut in one corner of the ring, directly opposite the downed TIE. "Come on. We'll get a fire going in this one."

* * *

Dusk fell, and with it, pounding rain.

The squall notorious on Ahch-To blew the driving rain droplets sideways, assisted along by gusting winds. Finn bent over a pile of driftwood he had hastily gathered from the cliffside rocks, and readied a stick of flint, hoping that the kindling was not too damp to light. A few strikes, and soon there was a spark. The wood went up quickly, despite the saturation, the firelight dancing off of Finn's dark skin.

There was a rustling as the flap of animal skin covering the doorway drew back, and Rey entered, face shielded against the elements. She was carrying a cylindrical, metallic object in one fist. Kneeling beside Finn quite close and smiling at him companionably, the two budding Jedi contented themselves to warming their hands by the fire, just being together. At last, Rey turned to her apprentice, holding out the object in her hand.

"Here." Opening her palm, Finn could see that it was a lightsaber hilt - beautifully and elegantly crafted. Gingerly, he took it, surprised.

"I thought I wouldn't get my own until a while yet. Not until I was ready. Aren't Jedi like that, teaching extreme patience?"

Rey nodded. "They were, in the olden days," she explained. "But we are going to be a new kind of Jedi. Back during the Republic, Jedi Padawan learners would go on a pilgrimage, to harvest kyber crystals and build their lightsabers. It was a planet called Illum, but since Ilum was turned into Starkiller... kyber crystals are extremely rare to find."

Finn turned the hilt over in his hands. Curious, he flipped the switch, and a green plasma blade hummed to life. Finn experimentally sliced the air with it, admiring the feel of it in his hands. "Who's saber was this?"

"Master Skywalker's," Rey stated sadly. "One of two he used in his career. But this one not as often. Ever since..." Her voice trailed off as tears came to her eyes. Cocking his head, Finn peered at her. Almost without even trying, he reached out with the Force to brush up against her mind. Nothing but a steel trap awaited him and he retreated respectfully. If Rey did not want to share, she had her reasons.

Taking a breath, smiling shakily, Rey continued: "The other lightsaber that he used was his father, Anakin's, before him. I buried it..."

"... on Tatooine," Finn finished. Turning back to the green blade, he switched it off. "Gee. I hope I'm worthy of this one."

Quite unexpectedly, he felt Rey cup his cheek rather tenderly. "You are," she beamed at him warmly.

She was touching his face rather intimately, and Finn felt his cheek grow hot under her soft palm. Rey drew back after a moment, and turned away, her body language suddenly shy. Fiddling with the hem of the threadbare blanket cast over her shoulders, she went on:

"And you'll need a saber, too, once we go in search of other Force sensitives. A Jedi's weapon is as handy in any fight as a blaster, if not more so." Facing him again, she sighed. "Why don't we get some sleep? It's late."

Finn nodded, stepping back graciously. "This one's yours. I'll find an open one across the way. Good night," he smiled.

Rey's face fell. Panic came over her features just then, as she foresaw the sleepless, lonely night that likely awaited her. One with Ben haunting her dreams. "Finn!" Her voice cried plaintively. He glanced back. Gulping, tears welling, Rey whispered, her voice quite small: "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He peered at her for a moment, then smiled kindly. Rey loved his smile. There was something all at once soft and yet heavy to it. Strong. In the beam of Finn's smile, she felt safe. "Yeah."

Turning his back to her, to give her some privacy as she readied the stone bed, Finn pulled his shirt over his head. Raising her eyes from the blankets, Rey found herself staring at the new reveal of skin.

Her eyes first fell on the ugly, red scar racing a diagonal path down along his spine, right shoulder to left hip, and she sucked in a breath. It was where Ben... no, _Kylo_ had struck him down during their lightsaber fight on Starkiller.

Rey soon found her eyes wandering to the rest of Finn's back. He had a solid physique - not nearly as broad as Ben's, but still lean and firm. She was amazed at how Finn's clothes did not justly show off the hard muscle underneath. Finn's biceps were toned, his shoulders resolute. For just a flash, Rey yearned to trail her fingers along the muscles in Finn's arms, but she clamped down on the thought just as quickly. She blocked the warm image from her mind so fast, in fact, she mentally slapped herself. Where had that come from? She only hoped that Finn had not read or sensed it. If he had, Rey just might have died of shame.

Finn's T-shirt had ridden back down as he pulled his tunic over his head, but he soon cast off the undershirt as well, exposing once again new inches of skin. The white fabric seemed to catch on his rippling deltoids, and he struggled to yank it off. Finally working the shirt free, his body seized up and he let out a hiss of pain. Rey's breath caught, and she reached out to him concernedly, eyeing the ugly red scar as it flexed along with the muscles in his back.

"Does it hurt much?" she whispered with sympathy.

Finn sent Rey something between a smile and a grimace. "Only when I'm taking off something with really coarse fabric. Sometimes, I feel spasms, but not so often anymore."

Rey's heart twinged at this. She remembered the doctor telling her on D'Qar that if they had gotten Finn into a bacta tank hours before they had, his wound might have healed better. "Did Kalonia ever give you an ointment? Some balm or salve to apply?"

He blinked. "As a matter of fact, she did." So saying, he procured a small disc of ointment from his pack and twisted the lid. "Can't remember the last time I've needed to apply any, though." Dabbing some onto his fingers, he rubbed the cream into his shoulders, reaching as far back as he could. When it looked like he was in danger of over-extending, he relaxed with a huff. "Poe can usually get the harder-to-reach places."

Rey smiled softly, holding out her hand. "Let me."

Finn gaped at her for a moment. She just smiled, gesturing to the bed. "Well, sit down." Her eyes twinkled. Slowly, Finn sat. Taking the cream from him, Rey scooped some onto her fingers and began to work the ointment into the middle of his spine, then down to the small of his back. She felt Finn lean into her almost unconsciously as she massaged him, and Rey let her fingers work more slowly, almost savoring the moment. In some instances, her hands would nearly still entirely, as she basked in the feel of his muscles under her touch and then she would have to get a hold of herself to start up again.

"Uhhhh..." She heard Finn moan. He actually _moaned_. Rey abruptly stopped, her hands stilling along his lower back, her face flushing.

"I'm sorry, am I pressing too hard?"

"No," he murmured. "That feels wonderful."

Rey further blushed. "Thank you," she got out meekly. After a slight pause, she set to work again; the last of the creamy stuff was just about absorbed into his skin. Finally forcing her hands to drop to her sides, Rey murmured:

"I wish he'd never hurt you." She had to remind herself in that moment that she was referring to Kylo, not Ben. The Ben that she knew - the Ben that she loved - would never have hurt another man like this.

"It was worth it," Finn grunted, casting a glance over his shoulder to look her in the face. "Better you than me."

She gaped at this, leaning back a little bit, eyes wide as she gazed at him. Finn only kept her in his sights, his own stare almost smoldering as hot as the flames next to them. Rey finally tore her eyes away, the guilt once again rearing.

"I should have been there with you," she murmured. "As you were healing." She could still feel the laser beam of Finn's eyes.

"You were," he crooned low. "And even when... your absence was... all too physical, I had one thing to keep close to my heart."

She looked up to peer at him. "What was that?"

Finn just smiled. "This." He slid something out of his pocket and into his fist. When he opened his fingers, Rey recognized it instantly, for she'd had on her person one just like it. Its twin. "You kept it," she breathed.

Finn nodded gravely. "As long as I have it, I feel like I have a part of you with me. It got me through the worst days, recovering, reminding me to look forward to some time that would be better. Us, together again."

Rey's eyes pricked with tears, and she dabbed at them with her blanket. The coarseness of the earth-toned fabric stung, only making her eyes water harder. Glancing back to him, she smiled wetly. "Thank you."

Finn nodded. "You're welcome."

The pair of Jedi held the gaze for a moment, unsure what to say or if there was anything to say. At last, the spell was broken as Finn averted his gaze. Cleared his throat.

"Why don't we turn in? It's late. You take the bed."

Rey opened her mouth to protest, and he held up a hand. "I insist. A lady always gets the bed. That's what we Stormtroopers were taught: the gentlemanly thing."

Rey turned fuchsia at Finn referring to her as a lady, and beamed. "I'm quite flattered, sir."

He just chuckled, and spread out a blanket on the stone floor to rest his head. To Rey's satisfaction, he laid it out close to her bed, lounging out across the blanket and closing his eyes. "Good night, Master."

She twittered out a laugh. "Good night, my... young apprentice." She found herself nearly using very different words, the thought of them whispering to her like the voices of those Sith acolytes in the arena on Exogol. Stretching out over the stone cot, her hand drifting down over the edge, she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Rey woke up to find her fingers intertwined comfortably with his.


	2. Chapter 2: Drawn Nearer

**Chapter 2: Drawn Nearer**

The next days and weeks on the island were spent with a great variety of Jedi activities. Rey started by giving Finn a tour of the island, and introducing him to the Caretakers. They seemed to take to the dark-skinned man much better than they had taken to her, on her first visit. And even then, there was not much difference, for the Caretakers were actually starting to treat Rey more kindly. It was almost as if they sensed in her the presence of their other masters, like Luke... and Ben.

At the heat of the day most mornings, Rey would take Finn out to the charred remains of the Jedi tree, or up to the outcropping in the first Jedi temple, and the pair would practice sparring. Finn had clearly retained some muscle memory from his fight with Kylo on Starkiller, and was quickly turning himself into an able duelist. Back and forth he and his Master would dance, golden blade slamming against green.

Often for a cool-down, Rey and Finn would practice meditating. Probing into his thoughts, Rey had learned quickly that her friend's mind remained very regimented, a lingering trace of his conditioning as a Stormtrooper.

"Relax," she would tell him. "Cleanse your mind of all thoughts and let your brain become an open well of peace. Now... reach out. What do you see?" Once Finn got over standing in his own way and did manage to relax, his answers to these questions were rather perceptive. Rey had to admit: she was impressed. Her first student was learning fast.

Alternatively, in lieu of meditating, Rey and Finn would relax from their more rigorous training by reading the Jedi texts. In the year she had spent on Ajan Kloss, Rey had doggedly gotten a decent handle on them, thanks in no small part to the help of Threepio and Beaumont Kin. The sideburned Resistance fighter was a walking encyclopedia of Force user history, both for the Jedi and the Sith. He had studied artifacts belonging to both warring factions, and knew how to read the ancient Jed'aii language. For Rey, this had been very helpful, as her literacy was... quite limited. She had sparingly tried teaching herself to read on Jakku where she could, but few texts were to be had; most learning and studying of ship maintenance manuals had come via hologram, while scavenging.

Thankfully, Finn was an avid and voracious reader, and did not dwell on Rey's embarrassment at her literary abilities, which she was ever grateful for. On this quiet Sunday afternoon, the pair were sitting side-by-side on the grassy knolls by the cliffs, watching the sunlight sparkle on the water and the Porgs taking wing.

"Sec... secarra... duwaisi..." Rey struggled to get a grip on the word before her.

"Sound it out," Finn suggested.

"Duwaisi... obfluscionce Jed'aii..." Rey continued.

"Refined Jedi sight," Finn translated. "At least, I think that's what it means." He squinted at the type.

Rey observed him. She rather liked the way that his brow furrowed as he studied the text - in a sense, it was cute. She liked how the sunlight refracting off the water fell onto his dark skin, making it almost sparkle. It made her think back to how the unrelenting sun had shone on his face as they ran, sweating and terrified, through the desert sands of Pasaana.

Thinking of the hunt for the Sith dagger made Rey recall how Finn had yelled out that he had something to tell her as they sank into the quicksand towards what they thought was their deaths. After Exogol, and he had told her he was Force sensitive, she had figured that had been his big secret. But now, the Force was tickling her, informing her clandestinely that it might be... something else. Something that was still unsaid.

"Finny?" Rey got out tentatively. She felt his body deflate of tension and internally warm at her little pet name for him. She had affixed the affectionate moniker onto him in the weeks after Crait, and it had stuck for them both.

"Hmm?" Finn murmured, still studying the page.

All at once, Rey struggled to ask what she needed to ask. Eyeing him shyly, she finally managed to get out: "Remember when you said you had something to tell me, on Pasaana?... What was it?"

He gazed at her then, making her feel like he was boring a path into her very soul. Only one other person had ever, _ever_ been able to look at her like that. It thrilled her, making her shiver, despite there being no wind chill and not a cloud in the sky.

She must have been gazing too intensely into his eyes, for her nerves suddenly came to life in her face, as she felt Finn's calloused paw of a hand cup and caress her cheek. His large fingers nearly dwarfed her dainty face. Quite involuntarily, Rey felt her eyelids grow heavy and nearly close. Finn's face crept closer, and Rey inched to meet him, almost as if she was under a spell. She should have been frightened... and yet she wasn't. At any point, she could shy away... and yet she didn't. _Is he going to...? He's going to... kiss... me... Wait: Finn? Finn kissing... me...?_ The tiniest flicker of self-doubt appeared, but she could count Finn's eyelashes; it was nearly too late to turn back now...

ERRRRAWWW! ERRAWWW! A baby Porg just then jumped right into Rey's lap, startling the two humans out of whatever trance they were in. Finn leaned back way too quickly, jumping sharply enough that he nearly fell off the log they were seated on. Folding into herself, Rey wrung her hands in her lap, flushing furiously. She awkwardly cleared her throat, the sound sounding closer to a squeak.

"So:... what does the next chapter say?"

* * *

Rey had a long coat with a large hood draped over herself, the garment effective in nearly covering her face as she moved through the crowded metropolitan thoroughfare. A headscarf was wrapped around her neck for further obscuring, just in case. Beside her, a parsec or two away so as to be nearly within arm's length, she felt Finn shuffling along in similar trenchwear that was baggy and much too big for him. But that was the idea. The heavy poncho swallowing his muscular frame was concealing precious stowaway cargo, the trenchcoat swimming along the dusty road to hide an extra pair of feet.

It was a rather bare-knuckle bones operation, while navigating the dangerous and still-First-Order controlled streets of Coreillia. In terms of its effectiveness in smuggling, Han Solo would have tssked and turned up his nose at their amateurish efforts. The one thing Rey and Finn had going for them was using Jedi mind tricks to fool the patrolling Mechtroopers at the security checkpoints. Get past those, and they could make a break across the waterfront to the docks, where the _Falcon_ was parked under a cloaking device.

This would be the last run of the day, Rey had decided. She was still uncertain how long a Jedi mind trick, even a well-placed one, could last, and she did not want to push her luck in finding out. Plus, there was always a chance of troopers being cycled out, and thus the chance that a particularly strong-willed one could not be bent to let them pass without checking ID docs.

Rey felt Finn brush up against her as the crowd bottlenecking towards the electromagnetic gates nudged him in her direction. "Just a few more yards, Finny, hold on," she encouraged.

He coughed loudly, hacking nearly in her ear, and she winced; the smog was clearly starting to get to him. She scanned the crowd with her vision and the Force - the last thing they needed was to draw unwanted attention to themselves, like someone plagued with a really bad cough.

And unwanted attention was what they might get, and only three feet from the checkpoint, as a Merchtrooper from about a hundred yards away turned his helmet in the direction of the two covert Jedi.

"Can you keep it down?" Rey hissed at her apprentice. "Otherwise, we'll get company..."

"I'm... I'm trying, Master - ERRR-HUHHHH!" Finn sounded like he was about to hack up a lung, nearly doubling over.

Eyes snapping to her right, Rey was startled to find the Merchtrooper pushing passersby rather intensely out of the way - he was ten yards out, five...

Thinking fast, Rey grabbed Finn by the shirt and pulled him into a passionate kiss, hiding his face behind her headscarf.

To his credit, Finn recovered quickly, moving to slide his arms around Rey's back and encircle her waist. Closing her eyes, Rey allowed herself to sell it, parting her lips and nudging apart Finn's so that she could slip the tip of her tongue into his mouth. He kissed her back insistently, passionately, his mouth slanting across hers, and she unconsciously let out a purring moan. "Hmmmm..."

Eyelashes fluttering open and darting to her right, Rey watched as the Merchtrooper stopped dead, and even covered by a helmet as he was, Rey could sense he felt flustered for nearly walking into a tender, private, intimate moment. He moved on. He couldn't have imagined how flustered Rey herself felt, as she and Finn slowly broke the kiss with a small POP!, the girl's eyes fluttering open, her lips puckered and swollen.

Finn looked like he had been hit in the head with a Z6 baton. Rey was breathing hard, erratically.

"Did it work?" she panted.

"I mean... I _think_ so?" Finn guessed. He was gazing at her almost reverently, and Rey forced herself to look past him, at the Mechtroopers walking away. Seeing her placid expression, Finn faltered.

"Oh. So that wasn't...?"

Was he really asking what she thought he was asking? Were they really going to have this conversation here? Now? Rey stared at him, expression still neutral.

"No." It felt like a lie, just a little.

For a long moment, Finn and Rey eyed each other, and not for the first time in her young life, Rey wished the Force had the ability to stop time.

"We should..." she got out.

"Right. Yeah."

The pair reached the checkpoint. Almost rote second nature by now, Rey waved her hand in the Stormtrooper's face.

"You don't need to see my or my friend's identification."

"I don't need to see your or your friend's identification," he droned back.

"We can pass."

"You can pass."

The electromagnetic fencing winked off and Rey and Finn quickly shuffled through. Only then did Rey let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Rey and Finn headed for the waterfront. They were fifty, sixty yards beyond the checkpoint, when a voice suddenly bellowed:

"TROOPERS! STOP THOSE TWO IN THE TRENCHCOATS! THEY WERE NOT SCREENED!"

Kriff. The mind trick had not lasted as long as Rey thought it would. Her eyes snapped to Finn's.

"Break for the _Falcon_." They sprinted to the docks, shuffling slightly as their poor little charge had to practically windmill her tiny limbs to keep up and still stay under Finn's poncho. Rey dared to uncloak the _Falcon_, allowing Finn to hustle up the ramp. Throwing off his coat, he let their little Force sensitive friend run into the safety of the galley to join and hide with the three other little children they had managed to pick up.

Halfway up the gangplank, Rey whirled back to hear the shouting, only slightly distant but getting closer. Her gaze snapped back to Finn, who was rushing down to meet her.

"Rey. Get on the ship. Please. We have to leave now!"

Rey's head whipped back between Finn and the approaching Mechtroopers. "Finny, you have to leave this place."

"I'm not leaving you," Finn growled.

They were at an impasse, and running out of time. Rey knew what she had to do... and she absolutely hated it. Raising her hand and waving it, she intoned:

"You will leave this place and go back to the island."

She had taught him too well, and in this moment, Rey deeply regretted it, for Finn resisted the invasion of his mind admirably. Were the situation not so dire, she would have been proud of him and his focus on his training. Still, it was a strain for him, and Rey supposed she partially had his Stormtrooper conditioning to thank for that.

"I'm not... don't do this..."

Rey approached Finn. Delicately brushed her fingertips against his bleeding forehead, from when he had tussled with a pushy Groidian peddler two runs ago. She tried again:

"You will leave this place and go back to the island."

"No..." Finn groaned mournfully. "You can't..." But his will was wearing, Rey could feel his mind slipping away...

With as much willpower as she could muster, Rey implored one last time: "You will leave this place and go back to the island."

"YOU TWO THERE! HALT IN THE NAME OF THE FIRST ORDER!" The first Mechtroopers had reached the docks, in parsecs they would reach the end of the piers...

Quickly, Rey took Finn's face in her hands and fiercely pushed, mashed her lips against his in a violent kiss. She felt him kiss her back, and the last of his mental resistance crumble. Forgetting herself, Rey closed her eyes and swooned just a little bit, allowing the kiss to deepen. "Mmmhmmm..."

When she finally drew away, Finn looked distraught. Saddened. "I... I will leave this place and go back to the island." Rey's heart broke at the lifelessness in his voice.

PING! PING! The first blaster fire reached them. Rey shoved Finn towards the ship. "Go! I will follow!"

Finn turned and ran almost like a zombie into the _Falcon_. Rey leapt off the gangplank as it retracted, igniting her golden lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts. She heard the roar of the _Falcon_'s hyperdrive coming to life as the ship blasted into atmosphere with its coaxial fuel. Body deflating in the knowledge that her sweet Finn and their charges were safe, Rey cut down Mechtroopers as though they were durasteel. Finn was safe... their students were safe... And... if she should fall here and not make it back to the island, at least she and Finn had said goodbye, at least she had kissed him goodbye...

Stabbing the last trooper through the abdomen, and looking to the horizon and seeing another wave of red-plated bodies advancing - Sith troopers - Rey's gaze fell on a beat-up B-Wing two piers down. With a flying Force leap, she landed on the viewfinder and sliced a hole in the ceiling, dropping into the cockpit. She hot-wired the engines calmly and methodically as blaster fire began to reach the ship. The moment the ship hummed to life, Rey lifted off into the atmosphere, and gunned the hyperdrive engines; she was barely out of Coreillia's orbit before she jumped to lightspeed.

* * *

**A/N: So, I have begun reading Collin Trevorrow's discarded _Duel of the Fates_ script. The two kisses here were lifted directly from the Damerey moments in that document. Hard cringe and pass on that, but when you switch out Poe for Finn, it makes more sense, because, gee, I don't know, Rey and Finn have a _history_.**


	3. Chapter 3: Matchmaker, Make Me a Match

**Chapter 3: Matchmaker, Make Me a Match**

Despite the Coreillia flight leaving the two Jedi disturbed, Rey and Finn courageously continued to gather Force sensitives. Even after the terror of nearly being caught had faded, the one lingering aspect of that mission that left Rey and Finn shaken was those desperate kisses. Unspoken, master and apprentice agreed to a plan of action: not talking about it. Instead, the Jedi pursued their mission with renewed purpose.

They plucked and rescued children from all over: Cantonica, Sullust, Byss. Pretty soon, the island of Ahch-To was teeming with up to thirty young recruits - some teens, but mostly young children, with ages ranging down to three or four years old.

This aspect regarding the make-up of their fledgling training academy actually created a tiny rift between Rey and Finn. Having been abducted from his family when he was very young, Finn was deeply opposed to recruiting younglings so tiny. To his righteous mind, that made the Jedi no better than the Stormtroopers. Deep down, Rey felt deep sympathy for him and understood his point. The Jedi of the Republic had brought new recruits to the Temple as children - a practice that Luke himself had criticized them for. At the same time, Rey felt that, at least in this instance, adhering to tradition held fewer risks than deviating on their own path. Most of the Jedi faith passed down to Luke Skywalker, she was already actively throwing away. And with there being a variety in ages (a slight one, but a variety nonetheless), Rey didn't see how it mattered what age their Padawans were.

Naturally, Finn thought this a very weak argument in defense, which resulted in frequently recurring shouting matches at night in what had become... _their_ hut.

"You take babies from their mothers' arms, practically three, four years old, and you are traumatizing them in a way that makes them tempting targets for the dark side!" Finn railed. "I thought you said you wanted our Jedi to embrace attachments! Recruiting kids this early... it just makes you a hypocrite!"

"We _will_ allow our students to have attachments!" Rey affirmed, gawking in offense at Finn deigning to call her a hypocrite. How dare he. How... how dare he! "They will be allowed to have families. Get married!" (she tried not to read too much into the strange look that came over Finn's face just then - an expression that was almost... hopeful). "And in any student we've approached, we've given them a choice! A choice of whether or not to embrace the Jedi path. But, Finny... every student has to start somewhere. And sometimes, the younger the better."

Finn scoffed. "I still say younglings will be tempting prey for the dark side."

"That didn't stop Kylo Ren from turning," Rey pointed out sadly. "He was a young man when he fell to the dark side. His mother sent him to Luke's academy when he was 11." She did not bother to elaborate on how she had come upon such personal information. One strength of her and Ben's bond was that they had instantly been able to know everything about each other on an extremely intimate level, the way that... well, the way that married couples do. Rey shook her head to clear it, trying to keep the tears at bay. Gods, it was never going to get any easier, the grief...

All in all, Rey and Finn were doting and attentive teachers to their students. They tried not to make them privy to their arguments over how the New Order should be run, but sometimes the sniping banter and bickering would spill out, only to then be equally weighed by moments of teamwork and genuine affection.

And for all their innocence, some of the younger and more mischievous Padawans - the "younglings," as they were known - noticed. More than a few were convinced there was something deeper going on there, between their Masters.

"Master Rey and Master Finn are in wuv," Stella, a little human toddler with curly blonde hair, would gossip to some of the older children, her heart in her eyes.

"Do you think they are going to get married?" Lyla, an older human Padawan of about ten, indulged Stella while the child was seated on her lap. Though in reality, Lyla was just as entranced by the idea.

"Has Master Finn kissed her yet?" Stella bubbled.

"Not that I've seen," Lyla giggled.

"Well, just as soon as he kisses Master Rey, then they'll _have_ to get married," Stella declared. "That's what mommies and daddies do, right?"

"You guys are talking crazy!" Temiri Blagg, a preteen boy from Canto Bight, scoffed. Ronan, his Wookie pal from Kashyyk, hollowed in agreement.

"Oh, are we?!" Lyla scowled. "You just watch, Temiri Blagg! We'll prove it to you... and, hey! I think I have an idea for how to do it... the Yuletide Party in the Big Hut, the night after next!" Many of the Padawan girls and younglings gathered around, gossiping excitedly.

The following evening, with darkness falling early on the island and small snow flurries blustering in, Rey and Finn threw a party for all their Padawans in the largest hut on the island. There was music and games and plenty to eat.

Despite its large size, with the stone edifice, there was nowhere to run in this hut. Here, the younglings put their plan into action.

Stella was in charge of taking care of Step One: luring Master Rey. Adorably, her thumb stuck in her mouth, she managed to garble around it as she approached her master shyly. "Master Rey?"

"Yes, baby?"

"There's something I want to show you, by the window. Come and see!"

Lyla took care of Step Two: lure Master Finn. She had also conscripted a reluctant Temiri Blagg, who had mostly signed on for his own curious amusement, just to see if the plan would actually work.

"Master Finn," Lyla whined cutely. "I'm cold! Can you come with me to shut the blinds at the window? This hut is drafty!" Finn gamely let the girl take him by the hand, and lead him to the window, where Rey was already gathering, holding Stella in her arms.

"I'm sure I saw a Porg out there..." Stella was babbling adorably.

"Excuse me, Rey, can I just get by you real quick? Lyla's cold!"

All at once, Stella abruptly squirmed out of Rey's arms and scampered away. "What...? - Stella!" Rey laughed confusedly.

"Now, Demetri!" Temiri hollered.

Demitri, a tiny Rodian boy, suddenly swung down from the rafters, hanging upside down and dangling in his green scales a sprig of holly.

Lyla was practically hopping on her toes in excitement as the trap was set. "Master Rey and Master Finn are under the mistletoe!"

Rey and Finn glanced up, freezing as they saw the sprig swaying inches above their heads. They glanced to their students, who by now had all gone quiet, so that the hut was deathly still. Rey and Finn turned back to each other, starting to awkwardly laugh.

"Well... we... we..." Rey stammered, chuckling bemusedly.

"Kids..." Finn laughed. "Very funny, you guys!" he hollered.

Cora, a human girl of 16, just cocked an eyebrow. "We're waiting..." she sing-songed.

Rey and Finn giggled almost madly before deciding to punt. Leaning in, they shared a warm, if also strained hug.

"Boo! Cheaters!" Temiri cat-called. Most of the others ignored him, and he turned to Lyla, smirking smugly. "Told you it wouldn't work..."

He glanced back just in time to see Rey and Finn leaning out of the hug. Something strange came over both of them then, their eyes going wide. Slowly, without planning it, the pair of Jedi leaned in as one. Their lips met.

The kiss was gentle and tentative at first, but then soon deepened, as both Jedi Masters seemed to forget their young charges were there. Looping her arms about his neck, fisting the collar of his tunic, Rey clutched at him. Softly, she closed her eyes, humming contentedly as Finn's arms encircled her waist to pull her close. "Mmmm..."

After one or two minutes of openly kissing, Rey and Finn broke apart with a whisper. They both stared into each other's eyes, gaping, realizing what they had just done... and in front of every single one of their students. Rey's face was bright red and she slid away, feeling unbearably shy. Finn scratched at something invisible near the back of his neck, feeling the heat from where Rey's hands had lingered there and yanked him tight against her amazing body...

Off to one side, Stella and Lyla were practically dancing, frolicking around in a circle. Other Padawans, even the teenagers, were whispering fiercely. Even Temiri Blagg was observing the sight shrewdly, pleased and immensely entertained.

"Let's... not tell Poe about that," Rey whispered lamely.

The rest of the Yuletide party passed in silence.

* * *

The mood was tense as Rey and Finn prepared for bed in their hut that night, their backs awkwardly to each other. Rey shimmied the threadbare black sweater over her head, the fabric hanging loose and past her knees. The smell of her Ben was starting to fade, but the garment was still plenty warm. Even then, on this particular night, the slight draft coming in from under the doors chilled her more than usual, and she drew Ben's cowl about herself for extra measure.

Her and Finn's nighttime routine had always been like this: changing into sleep pants and nightdresses while facing the opposite walls. The new, added factor, however, was the charged feeling in the air, so charged you could almost smell it.

Finished dressing in her nightgown, Rey dared to shyly eye Finn as he tightened the drawstring around his sleep pants. On tonight of all nights, she wished that he slept with a shirt on. It was one of the quirky things about him - even in the dead-ass middle of winter, Finn resolutely slept shirtless. And now, his bare muscles were starting to make Rey feel very warm inside... as well as in other places.

Rey didn't know what made her say it - well, whisper it - but it came out before she could stop it. "Was that your first... real kiss?" She stumbled near the end of the question, having to remind herself that tonight was already their third time kissing each other. In the very next minute, she regretted the phrasing, as it seemed to imply that the desperate locking of lips on Coreillia had not been real. Rey wasn't even sure if they had been. Despite what she had said at the time, those kisses were real... weren't they? Especially the second, goodbye kiss, that had been real... hadn't it?

"What?" Finn turned to face her and Rey had to fight not to stare at his perfectly chiseled pecs. Her timbre dropped slightly as she managed to ask again above a whisper, modulating her voice.

"Was that your first time... kissing a girl?" Flushing, she started to ramble. "I mean, I know, obviously, that wasn't your first time kissing me... I mean..."

"No." Finn's voice pinged out. Rey gazed at him, her deep brown eyes blinking.

"No, as in, you're agreeing that no, that wasn't your first time kissing me, or no, that wasn't your first kiss in general...?"

"Second one," Finn murmured.

Rey blinked again. "Second one, as in, you're choosing the second question, or second one, as in, that was your second kiss... Oh," she whimpered, comprehension dawning. She played with Ben's sweater, wringing it between her hands, her pinky finger wriggling through the one hole in it. She suddenly found the stonework at her feet very interesting. Her voice had gone back to whispering again as she murmured:

"Was it someone in the Stormtroopers with you? Like Jannah?" Hell, it very well could have even _been_ Jannah, and Rey's heart clenched oddly.

"No," Finn denied, his own voice a little surer this time. Rey snapped her eyes up to his, surprised. "Stormtroopers weren't allowed to consort very much. We had camaraderie, that was encouraged, but deeper attachments were frowned upon. Phasma gave all new recruits a... sex ed lesson," he plowed on when Rey kept staring at him blankly. "but it was used as a tool of deterrence. Teaching abstinence."

Rey nodded, understanding how that would make a certain kind of sense. "Then who was she?" she pressed, even as her heart cried out for her not to ask. "Was she pretty?"

Finn shrugged. "Not particularly. Not... not like you." Her mouth dropped open at this.

_Don't ask_, Rey's heart wailed. _Just leave it alone..._ Her head disobeyed. "What was her name? Anyone I know?"

At this, Finn turned a valiant shade of pink, despite his skin tone. He mumbled finally, "Rose."

Rey sucked in a gasp. "_Our_ Rosie?"

Finn nodded. "It was on Crait, right after she crashed. She plowed into me to save me from ramming the ion cannon. I didn't even see it coming... she kissed me, and then... she passed out."

Rey now found herself thinking back to that day, fleeing off of Crait, her heart in a million pieces over losing Ben. She had observed Finn attending to Rose quite carefully, as she, Rey, looked on sadly. At the time, she had not regarded the sight with anything that could be described as envy, but... had she just been unaware of it? Even if she wasn't, had she been envious in regards to what she still yearned to have with Ben... or did it go deeper than that?

"I didn't feel the same." Finn almost blasted it out into the strained silence, enough for Rey to jolt. "When she woke up, we had a frank, honest discussion about it, and... agreed to just remain friends."

Rey's heart cried out in joy at this, even if a tiny bit of her heart felt sorry for Rosie. Silence reigned for a long time after that.

Until Finn queried: "What about you?"

Rey jumped. "What... what about me?" she bristled, smiling weakly. Her dimples were strained, adding to how much the expression seemed faked.

He stepped closer, his dwindling proximity making her shiver. "Have you ever had another man ever kiss you?"

Rey gulped, eyes glistening. "Yes," she whispered. "Once."

Finn blinked in surprise, then smiled invitingly, trying to put her at ease. "Were you a little girl, then? On Jakku? Another scavenger, perhaps?"

BAM! The memory came at Rey like a lightning flash. Waking up in Ben's arms, seeing the pure love dripping off his face. Her radiant happiness, beaming at him, caressing his cheek before she gathered her courage and closed the gap to meet him in a frenzied, relieved kiss...

She shook her head, pursing her mouth tight, tears slipping. "It was... at the end of the war," she admitted weakly.

"Ah-ha!" Finn laughed. "On Ajan Kloss! I remember everyone was kissing everybody else... Bet it was Beaumont, I expect..."

"It wasn't Beaumont," Rey clipped quickly. "And it wasn't on Ajan Kloss. It... it was on Exogol."

Finn froze at this, his eyes narrowing and Rey felt his Force essence brushing up against her mind. She could feel his wariness. He sensed it: something wasn't right... There was more to the story... So much more... Rey kept her thoughts sealed, taking a deep breath.

"You never wear black..." Finn stated slowly. The comment almost seemed unrelated, but they both knew damn well it wasn't. "You never wear black... except at night..." Her looked her up and down, peering, probing. "Those aren't your clothes, are they?" He seemed to be kicking himself for not putting it together before. "They're... they're _his_... your mystery sweetheart..."

Rey was shaking, her breath letting out in something between a whimper and a moan. "It's... it's what he died in..."

"What _who_ died in?" Finn demanded.

Rey's throat wobbled through a potent gulp, the motion allowing a sob to slyly burst free. She clapped a hand over her mouth, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Ben Solo!"

Her volume see-sawed violently as she gave his name, she almost wailed it but not quite. Finn leaned back, eyes wide.

"Leia's son?" He had known that Leia had a son, but nothing had been said as to what had happened to him. All at once, he managed to wriggle into Rey's mind, and the images assaulted him:

Rey and Ben Solo touching hands in a hut not unlike this very hut... Rey and Ben standing quite close in an elevator and whispering sweet nothings... Rey caressing Ben Solo's face before lunging in to press her lips against his...

One more image flashed, of Ben Solo... twirling a red lightsaber as he advanced on... Finn. The memory was tinged with a potent anguish, a guilt, ringing out almost like a discordant musical note.

And it all clicked into place.

"_Kylo Ren_?!" Finn's voice skipped several decibels and Rey shuddered violently. "_Ben Solo_ was Kylo Ren? You fell in love with Kylo Ren?!"

"I couldn't help it!" Rey wailed. Tears glistening, she reached for him, beseeching. "Finny... you told me your love history. Can you please try and listen as I tell you mine?"

A long, painstaking moment before Finn nodded. Taking his hands in hers, noting how warm they felt, Rey maneuvered Finn over to his stone sleep cot and they both had a seat. Staring down at their joined hands in her lap, Rey began:

"Ben Solo and Kylo Ren were not the same person... not completely." Finn looked like he wanted to say something, refute this, but he refrained. "When Kylo captured me on Takodana, he interrogated me on Starkiller Base. I resisted his probing of my mind, and... inadvertently, we built a connection. A Force Bond. It allowed us to see, hear and touch each other across the galaxy, after I came to this island to find Luke."

Rey shook her head, smiling sentimentally as she almost laughed at her past foolishness. "I hated him, at first. For what he did... to Han... But as we continued to... see each other and kept talking, I got to know Ben... the _real_ Ben." She chanced a look at Finn, eyes pleading with him to believe her. "He was just a scared little boy who had been manipulated all his life, trying to be a man he really didn't want to be. Palpatine had been torturing his mind for decades..."

"That's no excuse," Finn's voice shook in a deadly whisper.

"Maybe not, but he was just as much a pawn as you were. Yes, Kylo made bad choices... but not because Ben wanted to." Rey continued her story: "Then, one night, in a hut just across the way... you know those pile of rocks just off the Force tree?" Finn nodded. "Ben came to comfort me. I had tried finding answers about my parents, but nothing came, and..." She shook her head, the tears falling. "I've never felt so alone!" Her voice broke. "We touched hands, and in that moment, I saw a beautiful future for me. Future for us... And it filled me with such happiness, I thought I could go to him aboard the _Supremacy_ and turn him." She choked up once more.

"I was wrong. Snoke tortured me, and Ben saved me. But when I asked him to come away with me, run away with me... he couldn't do it. Power beckoned to him. Kylo took over him. We fought over Luke's father's lightsaber, and it came apart, and the ship seemed to with it. I had to leave him behind. Crait happened..." She paused to collect herself. "And over the next year, we continued to see each other, across the Bond... Ben was hurt and angry at my leaving him. We fought more than we..." She hung on the word. Loved? It didn't seem like an exact description for those more tender moments, rare though they were.

"But he pursued you... in those final hours... Pasaana and everything..." Finn stammered, disbelieving.

Rey shook her head. "Only because he wanted to protect me," she chided gently. "Keep me safe... from Palpatine... my grandfather."

"Hold up... what?!" Finn gawked. "The Emperor was your..."

Rey nodded heavily. "After Ben and I fought on Kef Bir, and I stabbed him... I healed him, and... I all but told him I loved him. I was in such a state of shock that I ran from him again, to this place. I burned his TIE and intended to maroon myself here. Luke's ghost talked me out of it. So, I went to Exogol to face him - Palpatine. He goaded me to strike him down and take his place on the Sith throne..."

"The one you saw yourself on with Ren," Finn guessed.

Rey nodded. "Except Kylo Ren was by that point dead," she smiled softly, proudly. "Ben Solo took his place. And Ben was the one who came to me on Exogol, to save me. He helped me face the Emperor. Palaptine cast him into a pit and I was assisted by all the Jedi who have ever lived to take him down. The effort was so great... that I died."

Finn made a strange noise then; it sounded like a sob. "I felt you go," he whispered, strangled. Rey's heart broke for him.

"Ben must have climbed out of the pit, for suddenly, I was awake. Waking up in his arms. His face was so gentle, and his eyes were so kind. I smiled at him, and... and I kissed him. My first kiss..." She smiled dreamily, but the expression quickly faded. "Before he died in my arms!" Rey bent her head in her lap, weeping silently and bitterly. She clutched, tugged at the black clothes she wore, not enough to tear, but hard enough for it to hurt, for the coarse fabric to bunch roughly against her skin.

"All that I had left of him were these black garments. I wear them every night now..." Rey shook her head, smiling tearfully and laughing slightly. "I know it seems silly, I know that he... he isn't coming back, but I feel like I need to wear it because... because..."

"Because you want to remain faithful," Finn concluded for her. Staring at him, Rey nodded.

"Yes," she murmured. A long pause, before she confessed: "Ben and I were more than just a Bond. We were a Force Dyad - so rare, it is as precious as life itself. The Force married us, Finny. For all intents and purposes, Ben Solo is my husband, and I am his wife, his grieving widow. He may have done some bad things in the guise of another person, but Ben was a good man, in the end. Can you possibly accept that?"

Eyes glancing in the firelight, Finn nodded. "I do, Rey."

She beamed at him tearfully, reaching out to cup his face. "Thank you for understanding how much he means to me," she whispered. The air in the room seemed to grow sweltering, oppressive, just then, as Rey's eyes flitted down to Finn's lips. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Rey leaned in close...

Finn turned his head away at the last second. "Please don't," he whispered, voice quivering. "Don't feel like you have to..."

Gripping his chin between her fingers, Rey forced him to look her in the face. Basked against the firelight, her eyes were soft and gentle, her smile kind. "Maybe I _want_ to," she whispered. Eyelids growing heavy, she craned her neck up to close the gap, pressing her lips to his in a long, soft kiss.

Within moments, Finn's tongue was in her mouth, his hand was disappearing into her chestnut tresses, playing with the three buns. With the other, he splayed it across her back to pull her close, lifting her into his lap so that Rey was straddling his hips. Fingers dancing under his jawline, Rey tilted his head back and deepened the kiss, closing her eyes in happiness.

"Kiss me..." she whispered, her breath tickling his face. Finn twisted his lips into hers eagerly, kissing her harder. Back came his tongue, swimming. Rey's own tongue had to work hard to get around his mouth, and her jaw muscles quickly grew sore. But she continued to kiss him, reaching a point where she seemed unable to stop.

She suddenly felt Finn's hands ghost up her ribs, hovering inches from the underside swell of her breasts. The heat from his hands tickled her mounds, and Rey squirmed out of the kiss, dipping her lips into Finn's neck and groaning into his shoulder.

"Rey..." Finn moaned in her ear. "Let me make love to you... Please, let me make sweet love to you..."

She drew back, her lips drifting away from the pulse point on his throat, as she leaned back to stare at him. Her doe, brown eyes were innocent, blinking. "I do not know how to love that way," she whispered, naive.

And thank goodness she didn't, Finn thought to himself. On a harsh rock like Jakku, and with a master like that Unkar Plutt, it was a wonder that Rey had never been forced into sexual slavery. She probably had her fighting skills and fierce tenacity to thank for her remaining a pure virgin. His clouded thoughts clearing, Finn became more aware of their position: Rey was straddling his waist, tempting his pants to become ever more tight. Making out as they had was enough for one night. He softly caressed her face, and Rey leaned into his touch, eyes drifting closed.

"Another night, then. When... when you're ready." He eyed her questioningly, silently asking if that would be what she wanted.

She nodded. "Show me," she murmured quietly. "When I'm ready, will you show me?"

Finn beamed. Lightly kissed her lips. "I promise."

Shyly, Rey rose languidly off his lap and stretched out on her mat. Twining her fingers through Finn's, the pair of Jedi fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: What Do You Call a Man Like T

**Chapter 4: What Do You Call A Man Like That?**

From then on, after their charged night of kissing after the Yuletide party, Rey found herself watching Finn ever more closely.

She delighted in every little new thing she learned about him. Like how his face would scrunch up when he was lightsaber sparring, to the point that his tongue would adorably stick out. Or how, his dark eyes would sparkle whenever he laughed.

She marveled at how he was with the Padawans, acting more like an attentive, doting father and less like the Master of the Order, her right-hand man paired with Rey's title of Grand Master. _Finny would make such a wonderful daddy_, Rey found herself dreaming, beaming at him as she watched Finn and their students both at work and at play.

Rey's infatuation grew to the point that whenever she saw him, her heart would flutter. The way she looked at her best friend and apprentice... it was changing, and it both frightened and enthralled her. Her expression would collapse into something almost dopey, besotted, and whenever Finn looked at her, or caught her staring... Rey would sometimes need to disappear to fan herself.

_What do you call a man like that? How to describe his hands, so tense yet so easy, so uncontrolled but unpredictable... The tornado of his eyes, shining bright... finding light... Wanting something, knowing something, seeing something holy... Something newly born without a name... _

Yes, those hands... Oh, Gods, those hands... those hands that had touched her. Hands that had caressed her... Rey felt something tighten deep inside herself, her face burning and nearly aflame.

Splashing water on her face, squaring her shoulders, she exited their hut and marched down a grassy knoll to wear Finn was lazily sparring with Ronan and Temiri.

"Good form, boys!" she nodded approvingly. Finn switched off Luke's green blade, his hand jumping to his dreadlocks... that long hair that Rey just wanted to run her fingers through. "Can I talk to you?" she murmured low, guiding him by the elbow behind some huts, and trying to ignore how Temiri was smirking like a loth-cat at them knowingly, before running off in search of Stella and Lyla. Rey turned to face her apprentice, her breasts oddly heaving for every gulp of air.

"Will you have supper in the _Falcon_ with me tonight?" Her voice was breathless, lashes fluttering shyly as she looked up at him.

Finn smiled down at her. "Of course. Just the two of us. I'll have Demitri and Cora keep watch over the others at evening meal."

Rey beamed. Standing up on tiptoes, before she could stop herself, she pecked his cheek. "I look forward to it!" she bubbled.

* * *

Rey got down to the landing platform that housed the _Falcon_ first, setting a pot of pasta to boil before retreating into Han Solo's former quarters. She slept here sometimes, when she needed to be alone to meditate or when her nightmares of Ben became too much to bear. Rummaging through her closet, Rey purused through the ornate dresses that had once belonged to Leia Organa.

She hadn't felt right about taking any, at first. But Kaydel Connix had insisted, even revealing that Leia had left her whole wardrobe to Rey in her will. It made Rey wonder if Leia had known something that she didn't, or at least, had at that time still failed to grasp. Nevertheless, Rey had only selected a handful of dresses, mostly the ones that she deemed simple, and therefore worthy of her. Even then, the gowns looked like they were fit for a princess - not a desert Jedi, a plain girl like herself.

Rey finally chose a salmon pink dress, the bodice bolstering up her breasts and revealing cleavage invitingly. Force above, what was happening to her? What had reduced her to choosing dinner wear for how much it could be... seductive? She had to be mad, surely - tempting and lusting after her Padawan apprentice. Falling in love with her best friend, after thinking she could never know another love, take another lover, after Ben.

When Rey finally emerged in the salmon pink dress, she crossed past the dejarik booth to check on the pot... and started to find that someone was already sitting there.

"You're so beautiful," Finn's voice was strangled, the whisper hoarse. She turned back to him, cocking her head innocently. He appraised her liberally, unable to hide the raging desire in his dark, pooling eyes. "Do you have any Maker kriffing _idea_, how beautiful you are?" He barked out a nervous laugh. "How did I get here?"

Rey gulped, her voice quite small but disarmingly honest. "You ran into my path, and I whacked you in the face and called you a thief," calling back to the first day they met. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she took him in, sporting a loose-fitting shirt and pressed slacks. The top collar was unbuttoned, revealing a sinful amount of his toned chest, and she whimpered. "Is... is this what you always do?" she sniffled. "Sneak up on people and get... every girl to fall in love with you?"

At this, Finn's eyes went wide, and he nearly stumbled out of the booth, his heart and his body at war with each other in a bitter dogfight. "Oh, no, no... I... I am not the kind of guy who just comes... riding in to sweep a girl off her feet! I - I don't stay, have never stayed, to find out if something is building, if there is something more there! I wouldn't... lay my heart out on this table, place it there like some offering to be cradled or crushed."

Rey let out a guttural sob, her cup overfloweth with love. Through the Force, she could feel his fear, his excitement... asking for her love, but still uncertain if she would allow it. Oh, couldn't he see...?

Rey's vision cleared to realize that Finn was now standing inches in front of her. "I wouldn't do this!" His eyes were wild as, tilting her head back in his strong hands, he ravished her lips with his.

It was the first time he had ever initiated a kiss between them, Rey noted almost disinterestedly, allowing this last thought to blip and then fall completely out of her head as her brain shut down. Her eyes quickly followed, their curtains drawing tight as she draped her arms in relief about his neck to escalate the strong, passionate kiss. Her and Finn's lips smacked together in a easy give-and-take, his mouth conquering and slanting over hers, gaining the upper hand. Rey was kissing his mouth, his face, nuzzling her nose into his cheek. She moaned piteously. "Uhhhh... Uhhhhh..."

Their mouths came together in a frenzy again. Finn's hands were everywhere and nowhere all at once, gliding down her face, the soft curve of her neck, sweeping her lower back. His calloused, strong palms eventually brushed along her breasts; Rey was reminded of Kylo Ren snatching the golden necklace off her neck on Pasaana, and she let out an aroused hiss into Finn's lips.

The hiss made him stumble on his footing, or perhaps something else did, for his own palm now gripped and cupped the swell of Rey's breast. Almost immediately, Finn snapped it back, as if burned, his Force essence yelping in shame at his audacity. Rey, however, assertively grabbed for his hands, placing them back on her pebbling, rising mounds, and pushing them into his hands, nearly into his face. Her jaw muscles were screaming with fatigue, her lips puckered and red and swollen, flexing to get around Finn's lips and swallow them whole. Suck his tongue into her mouth.

"Hmmmm... Yes, more, please," Rey rasped, liking his hands on her very much. "Please mormmmmmm... more... Mmmmm... I... I neehmmmmm... I need you, Finn-mmmm..." His tongue was dancing in her open mouth, so she could barely talk or form words, form sounds.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The shrieking console in the cockpit suddenly blared, causing Finn and Rey to snap apart, their arms still around each other, panting. Finn's eyes nakedly revealed the desperation of a man who was ready to throw all caution to the ever-loving wind if given even the slightest push. They were standing on the edge of a cliff, and ready to cast themselves off it. Ready to jump at a single word.

"If you need me to go... do it now!" Finn's voice was ragged, had dropped several octaves into something almost dark. Rey shivered in uncontrollable delight. His reaction to this entire tryst had so far been almost comical, bumbling. Rey wanted to laugh at his cuteness, the inexperience evident. But wasn't she no less inexperienced? Trying to clear her foggy brain, she stepped out of Finn's arms and turned to answer the console.

A little blue figurine appeared glowing on the holodisk, and Rey recognized the round, almost cherubic face. "He-ey!" Rose called like some valley girl, grinning incessantly.

"Oh..." Rey chuckled weakly, her smile tight. "Hi, Rosie." Her hands shook as she frantically worked to switch the hologram off and transfer it to voice reception. Rey got it on the second try, and was relieved when the holo image winked out. She most definitely did not want Rose Tico to see her answering a call while Finn was... placing his hands where he was. Her eyes rolling back into her head and her head leaning back as she tilted her neck so Finn could trail fiery kisses into the curve of her throat, sinking his lips into her skin. Rey's breath was starting to come out in rough gasps, her breasts heaving like a bellows, kneaded and stoked by Finn's incredibly talented hands.

"So... whatcha doing? Taking a break from Jedi training?"

"Y...you could... say that... Ooh, yes, right there..." Rey breathed, moaned even. Once again, she thanked her lucky stars that Rose was no longer being projected into the room, but she all the same felt the technician's voice still.

"...Is someone there, Rey?" She could feel Rose's mirth almost before she heard it.

"Yesssss..." Rey hissed, accidentally answering the question honestly while also exulting at Finn's tongue lavishing the pulse point on her neck, followed by a potent tweak to her pebbling nipple.

"Oh, I see... well, you did say your Jedi would have... attachments." There was almost a giggle in Rose's voice.

_Gods... if only you knew who my attachment is_, Rey thought weakly, as she felt Finn's digits hover dangerously close to just below her waist, rolling back the hem of her dress up her quaking thighs. "F...F..." Rey had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from yelping Finn's name. Or letting out a very dirty word - her brain hadn't quite decided. Either way, she bit on her swollen and very kissed lips with everything she had, until she felt a bead of blood wobble along her mouth.

The pause elongated into something awkward, until Rose broke it with, "Well, maybe I can meet your handsome stranger one day, so you know... I can ogle at him too"

_You already know him_, Rey thought. Did Rosie know? Did she suspect? Or was she wondering if Rey was having an illicit fling with one of her older Padawans? It didn't matter - nothing mattered except Finn's hands on her body and his lips on her skin.

"B...bye, Rosie," Rey heaved, and switched off the comlink. Instantly, she felt Finn's hand on her cheek, turning her face back to cover her lips with his. She nearly collapsed, purring like a loth kitten. Spinning around, she very nearly leapt into his arms, climbing his body like a tree, and Finn had to wriggle to set her back down on the ground. He chuckled into her insistent mouth, and Rey whimpered again. When their lips finally wrenched apart and they had gotten a hold of themselves, Finn's eyes were sparkling, his smile blissfully shy.

"Dance with me?" he murmured. A wave of his hand, and the Force had turned on the radio. A solo saxophone began to wail. Smiling in amusement, Rey nestled into Finn's lock of an embrace and the pair began to sway in time to the music. The last Jedi gently laid her head on her handsome Stormtrooper's chest:

_I've waited a long, long while for us to get started. I've got a list of things that I wanna do... I know you're scared and shy, but don't leave me broken-hearted. Darling, let me get closer to you... _

The music quickly shifted into a sultry ballad.

_What was I saying before, about being lost? The thing is, I knew where I was, but not where I was going. Why did I walk those mountains? Why did I ride those ships? Why did I watch those horses running wild?... Now, I know... Now I know... All my life, I have been falling, I have been falling into you... circling in the sky, looking for a harbor coming into view..._

Rey hummed in contentment and snuggled closer. "Finny..." she crooned. "Whatever this is... whatever we do from here, don't give it a name. We mustn't reduce it to something clear... or simple." She gazed up into his soft face. "I want to believe that we are the first people in the galaxy to know this feeling, to know this moment... to cross this line..." Burrowing back into his arms, she let him hold her.

_All my life, I have been falling, I have been falling into you... this is where I land. You are what I've looked for. Now is what is true. All my life, I have been falling into you..._

Finn and Rey swayed to a halt, melting into each other's arms as they embraced and kissed. When the kiss finally slowed and fell away in its passion, the pair of Jedi locked eyes, smoldering. Wordlessly, without even knowing fully what awaited them, what she was doing, Rey took both of Finn's hands in hers, and guided him with purpose back towards the captain's quarters...


	5. Chapter 5: Falling Into You

**Chapter 5: Falling Into You**

Once they were inside, Rey draped her arms about Finn's neck and lazily kissed him. From that moment on, her body was overtaken by instinct and she let the Force be her guide. The lust and deep love she felt for this man burned through her bloodstream like a wildfire. She was alight, hotter than the lava on Mustafar, hotter than the twin suns orbiting above Tatooine... Only once before had she felt so alive, and she had never known if she would ever recapture that feeling again...

Moving with a confidence that she didn't quite entirely feel, Rey guided Finn back to the soft bed. He sank back onto it, and she followed, her lips never once leaving his. Her eyes closing again, she slipped the tip of her tongue past his lips and moaned piteously. "Hmmmm... Finny..."

Swinging one leg wide, Rey planted her hands into his chest and moved to daintily straddle him. Her thighs came to rest on either side of his hips, the hem of her pink dress riding high up nearly over her bottom, exposing the creamy flesh of her legs. Finn's palms came to rest on her hips, nearly searing into her bones.

Wrenching free of the kiss, Rey curled her flushed lips adorably as she moved to make quick work of his shirt. She unbuttoned each button with slow, deliberate care, until Finn was wriggling underneath her, completely at her mercy. His pelvis brushed and bucked along hers and she felt the muscles in her core contract with anticipation. The space between her legs became very damp.

"Rey..." Finn croaked. Her finger brushed his lips.

"Sssh..." Kissing him thoroughly, she managed to shuck his tunic off and over his head, casting it to the floor. Her fingers drifted lower, deftly undoing the drawstring at his pants and shimmying them down nearly to his ankles. By now, Finn was practically vibrating, and when he moved to cup Rey's swelling breasts in his palms, she let him, throwing her head skyward and back with a moan.

"Rey... please, Rey..."

"F...Finn..." she gasped. "Help... help me get... this dress off..."

He wasted no time in his haste to obey, slipping the straps off her shoulders and sliding the bodice away so that her bare breasts hung free. Her mounds were small, but pretty, the aeolas pebbling into a dark, inviting purple. Finn's mouth nearly slobbered the nipple as he kissed it, quickly taking the sensitive flesh between his teeth. Rey moaned piteously and bucked her hips, grinding her pelvis into his and eliciting a sharp whine. Her fingers finally sank into the long curls of his hair that she had secretly admired ever since Finn started growing it out after the Battle of Crait, her fingernails nearly digging into his scalp. Finn made no noise to indicate any pain, but she let up all the same, for fear of hurting him. She couldn't bear it if they lay together like this and she hurt him...

The pink dress was still pooling around her bony hips, hips that had made Rey feel self-conscious more than once. Concentrating on the straps at her waist, Rey willed the Force to help peel the fabric off the rest of her body.

She had to slightly Force-levitate off Finn to get the job done, but soon the pink fabric pooled in a heap at the foot of the bed. Rey collapsed back onto Finn, oofing out a breath. Their gazes locked. Shifting her hips back into place, resting her hands on his chest, Rey wiggled until she felt... a bloated, wild thing for which she had no image or point of reference and barely even a name, brush up against her slick folds. With a deep shuddering breath, she sank down onto him, letting Finn push his way in.

Both of them groaned on impact. She hadn't meant to move so fast, or be so rough about it. Rey felt a pinch as Finn breached her maidenhead, and tears pricked at her eyes, but she kept quiet. Resting her hands on his chest, she started by getting a few bounces in, riding up and down on his cock. The Force was whispering in her ear, telling her what to do and how she should do it. Whatever she was doing, Finn seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, driving up into her like a ferocious beast. They were man and woman, and yet moving like two animals in heat having lost complete control of themselves. Finn's eyes were rolling around in his head, moaning.

"Rey... Rey... Maker _God_, Rey..."

"Oh, Finn... Finn..." Rey moaned. A tear slipped down her cheek and fell onto his upturned face like sweet rain, so wonderful was the pleasure coursing through her. She began to gyrate and buck against him more frantically, as sounds that she had never heard her vocal cords make began pouring out of her.

"Uhhhh... Huhhhh... Mmmmm... Hmmmm... Guhhh... Ohhhh..."

Deep in her core, the pleasure was building and building, cresting like a wave. She felt the bundle of nerves in her womanhood practically crackling with something close to electric and she jiggled against Finn even more frantically. Her muscles were contracting, preparing for something big.

"F... Finny..." Rey panted. "I'm... I'm going to..." The word escaped her, until Finn whispered it, gazing deep into her eyes as she stared with pure love down at him.

"Cum for me, my beautiful Jedi. _Cum_." That was it.

Rey threw her head back, letting loose a primal, airy scream. "_FUCK_!" Her walls clenched, her toes curled so that they pinched some of the bedsheets against the soles of her feet and a dousing wave of pleasure swept her away. Her body quaked violently and she collapsed, swooning, her body strewn across Finn's chest.

Her hair was a matted mess, plastered against the sweat on her forehead, and Rey nuzzled her face into the hairs on Finn's chest. It was only then that she realized, and her face flushed with shame:

"You... you didn't... get to... finish." Gods, was she even using the right words, euphemisms or whatever it was? The Force wasn't exactly helpful in _that_ department.

Finn just beamed up at her, brushing the saturated bangs from her forehead. Lightly pecked her lips. "Watching you come undone against me was pleasure enough. I'm amazed I didn't release right there."

She eyed him concernedly. "It's only fair..."

"Rey, honey: you don't have to..."

"I _want_ to," Rey stated firmly. Sliding off of him, her pelvis slick with her own juices, Rey crawled backwards down the bed. Glancing down, for the first time, she got a good look at Finn's... equipment.

His manliness was dark and throbbing, standing at attention. Smirking in admiration, Rey reached out a soft hand to touch his tip.

"I could get pregnant from this..." Her voice was less than a whisper, and Finn didn't appear to hear her. He was watching her closely while pretending that he wasn't.

"Is... is it...?"

"You're beautiful," Rey breathed. He heard her that time. Smiling broadly, impishly, Rey reared forward to boldly take him deep in her mouth. The moment her lips sealed around his foreskin, Finn's entire body seemed to seize.

"Holy mother of... Rey!" His one hand came to cup the back of her head, fingers disappearing into her hair as he locked her firmly in place. He was bucking his hips with close to wild abandon, slapping his pelvis into her face.

Her mouth tight around him, forming a perfect 'O' as she smirked, pleased, Rey bobbed her head up and down, sucking Finn in deeper into her throat.

Finn's thighs were shaking, scrabbling for purchase along the blankets. His hands fisted the bedsheets so hard, his dark knuckles were turning white.

"R...Re...Rey... I'm... Oh, _please_, Rey..."

She chuckled smugly, his penis slapping around in her mouth so that she nearly choked. She released him slightly, drawing her mouth back to experimentally lick up his length and to his tip, where she planted a kiss before diving back in to repeat the motion again. In her eagerness, she accidentally stopped gumming him and her teeth scraped along his foreskin.

Finn exploded. "Mother_kriff_, Rey!" He released his cum into Rey's mouth in a torrent, the liquid quickly flooding her. Rey suctioned her mouth back along his length to keep the cum in, and gamely worked to gulp down every last drop he had to give her. She could feel his eyes on her throat as she worked, and she only just became aware of just how damn sore her jaw muscles were, but she didn't stop. After the last swallow, she finally released him, admiring the way his length was softening.

"Good boy," she murmured quietly, pleased.

* * *

Rey and Finn's lovemaking didn't stop there. Before long, they were kissing with tongue again, staggering their naked bodies down the hallway and into the fresher. The steam rose higher and higher, the deluge of water mixing in with the sounds of their lips snapping and biting, Finn's groans and Rey's incessant purring. Rey's lips were positively numb by now, and yet she could not get enough kisses, insisting on one more... then another... and another after that...

Finn soon dropped to his knees, lifting one of her legs over his shoulder. Rey's hand slapped the shower glass, scrambling to find purchase where there was none and only resulting in leaving a dewey print. As Finn buried his face in between her legs, feasting on her curls, Rey pushed her nose against the glass, her eyes lidded, cloudy and rolling as she made tiny yips and other pathetic noises.

"Uhhhhh... Uhhhhh... Ohhh... Oh, stars... I... uh, I can't...FINN! Fuck!"

She came with a curse and a squeal on his face, Finn's tongue firing along and into her baby-pink folds, lapping up the juices amidst the running water... And Finn didn't stop until Rey came against his mouth again, and again, and again...

Face emerging at long last from her soaked folds, eyes glinting, Finn gazed at Rey and her flushed state adoringly. And finally, at long last, his voice husky, he got out the words that he had always wanted to say:

"I love you."

She beamed at him. "I know."


	6. Chapter 6: Second Choice?

**Chapter 6: Second Choice?**

From then on, most every night was like that.

The excitement would build at sundown when Rey and Finn would have supper with their Padawans. The Jedi Masters would move quickly to put the younglings and other little ones to bed, before running with peals of giggles back to the _Falcon_ to make love. They never dared to try fooling around in their hut, only sleeping there now if one or the other wanted a break from fucking. It would not do to give in to passion along the rocky cliffs and risk one of their charges coming across them and traumatizing their innocent eyes.

One night, after a particularly heavy round of lovemaking, Finn slipped quietly off the ship and stole at a leisurely place up to the cliffs to check on the Padawans and also find for himself a change of clothes. Doubling back on his return trip, he found and plucked a bouquet of flowers to present to his lady love.

It was the most wonderful dream, to have fallen in love with his Jedi Master, and for her to feel the same. Finn knew he had always loved Rey - he had fallen for her the minute he met her.

Of course, the specter of Ben always loomed in the back of his mind, but Finn found himself paying it little heed, pushing him into the recesses of his conscience. Love was blind, as they said, and who was he to judge how Rey had felt about Ben? Besides, the man was dead, there was nothing to fear...

Or so he thought, until he glanced up when reaching the stone landing platform - and stopped dead.

* * *

Rey was wrapped in nothing but a bedsheet, staring up at the island peaks wistfully as she waited for her paramour to return.

The sex with Finn was amazing, volcanic. For the first time in her life, she felt womanly, confident in her sexuality, that part of herself awakening as much as the Force had in her. Back on Jakku, she had never had any need for romance, had never dared to contemplate it until... Ben had entered her life...

That was when she felt it, something she had not felt in a long time - the sound of time and space blurring to a standstill, the squelching of reality compressing. She turned...

... and there he was, translucent and glorious, standing just down the ramp, maybe two feet from her. Rey's mouth fell agape and her hands went slack just enough so that the bed sheet tumbled to her feet. She didn't even have the presence of mind to cover herself, her bare breasts glowing in the moonlight. Rey's throat went dry, her voice coming out in something between a whisper and a croak.

"...Ben?"

There it was again - that dazzling smile that had haunted her day and night. Rey could not help but beam back, it was like breathing, and she moved to run into his arms. Laughing, Ben caught her and spun her around. And then, once he set her down, Rey flung her arms about his neck and the pair shared a long, dreamy kiss...

Rey sank into the kiss like she would a warm bath, closing her eyes contentedly and humming softly. "Hmmm... Ben..." Her lips curled into a smile against his.

Suddenly -

"Rey? What the fuck?!"

* * *

For a moment, Finn could only stand there, speechless. The love of his life, locked in a close embrace with another man - _him_, no less... and seeming to thoroughly enjoy it.

"Rey? What the fuck?!"

Rey and Ben snapped apart, Rey freezing as she turned in Ben's arms. Her rouged lips fell open in horror, mortification.

"Finny," she whispered. Against her, she felt Ben's grip tighten about her waist.

"I... I..." Finn pointed a shaking finger at the couple. "I thought you said he was _dead_!"

"I am," Ben frowned, sounding almost offended that Finn would dare to imagine otherwise.

Rey shrank out of Ben's warm embrace. Forgetting that she was still maddeningly spread out naked before him, before both men, she raised her hands to Finn, eyes pleading, beseeching.

"Finny, please, I can explain..."

"Oh, do tell," Finn scoffed.

Rey frowned deeply. "This is the first time I've seen Ben since the day we had to say goodbye to each other. I was so happy... I couldn't help it!"

Finn didn't seem to acknowledge this, except to say softly, the hurt in his voice apparent: "Happier than you've been with me?"

Rey's entire face shattered in pain at this, the words cutting her to the quick like a lightsaber stab to the chest. Next to her, she heard Ben growl, his face contorting in jealousy at the realization that someone else had had _his_ precious Rey.

Rey's voice broke. "How could you ask that of me, Finny? Don't you know that I've been happier with you than I've been in a long time?" Through the Force, she felt Ben's essence roiling in agony. Rey felt trapped, caught in a Catch-22 of her own making: no matter what she said to soothe and placate the one, there was the inevitability of her causing pain to the other. A love triangle of the cruelest order.

Finn's expression wasn't dark. No, it was worse than that - it was vapid. Emotionless. "I'm going to sleep in the hut tonight." That one little sentence pierced Rey the way that only one other phrase ever had: _You're nothing... but not to me. _

And right now, Finn might as well have uttered that, whether verbally or as subtext. Her new lover turned sadly away... but then doubled back, voice and finger quivering as tears glistened against the _Falcon_'s lights.

"If he was still alive... would you have ever been with me? Hell, as long as he still exists, as a ghost, in your head... can you ever completely give yourself to me?"

Rey opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her mind had abandoned her, now chillingly blank, as she realized that the answer would not come to her. Finn must have interpreted something from her silence, for Rey could only watch heartbreakingly as he staggered up the many stone steps towards the huts. She turned back to Ben to fall at her knees, and beg his forgiveness for her weakness at letting another man into her bed...

But Ben's Force Ghost had already disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7: DREAM - Tempted

**Chapter 7: DREAM - Tempted**

_Rey was standing on the Death Star ruins in the sea of Kef Bir, the waves slapping over the metal parapets and dousing her feet. The sea foam crashed in her ears, churning and assaulting the precarious structure on which she was now standing. _

_Through the watery mist, Kylo Ren appeared, wielding his red lightsaber. With a ferocious growl, Rey charged and attacked him, their plasma blades crackling together. She ducked and weaved, then parried, pressing her advantage, and slowly driving Kylo back. _

_"REY!" Glancing back, she could see Finn dashing towards her amidst the ocean spray. _

_"NO!" she cried, throwing out her hand. The Force propelled Finn backwards so that he skidded along the wet surface, blocked by the continued crashing of the waves. _

_In this dream (or was it a memory?), Rey continued to batter Kylo. The fierceness in his entrancing, dark eyes was starting to fade into something uncertain, as he began to grasp how he was losing this fight. _

_This time, it was not Kylo who gained the upper hand and beat Rey down; rather, it was the reverse. Rey brought down her blue saber again and again, eventually bringing Kylo to his knees. Like before, she stabbed him clean through to render him out of commission. His saber hilt hung limp at his side and he glared up at her as she leveled her laser sword at his throat. _

_"Go ahead," he goaded. "Do it. Kill me."_

_Just like on Starkiller a year before, Rey's expression was feral, the anger coursing through her veins, an anger she now knew to be from Palpatine. _

_But instead of striking Kylo down, she switched off her blade and fell to her knees. _

_Mashing Ben's face in her hands, Rey slammed her lips against his in a fiery kiss. _

_As the budding Jedi and failing Sith embraced and kissed deeply, neither noticed how Rey's fierce kiss was slowly beginning to heal the stab wound in Ben's chest. Seizing her hips, Ben hoisted Rey into his lap, where she wriggled her pelvis against the burgeoning evidence of his desire for her. Ben groaned pitifully and bucked against her like a wild beast, before quickly asserting control and bending Rey back onto the deluged metal of the Death Star. _

_The Force exulted, trapping the lovers in an invisible, windy inferno. The waves continued to crash around them inundating the lovers as they rolled around in a locked embrace. Rey eventually found herself under Ben, and she spread her legs eagerly, as both he and she frantically tugged at his cowl. Rey's white pants were shoved down past her knees. Ben's mouth was sealed to hers, his tongue tickling Rey's lips and demanding entrance. She granted it pliantly. _

_"Mmmhmmmm... Ben..." Her voice drizzled with mercy. _

_Ben granted it. He took Rey fiercely, plunging his manliness into the petals of her wet sex. Rey gave an airy yelp as she cried out, bucking and flicking her femininity into Ben's manhood. The pair began to fuck like two Loth cats in heat, Rey moaning incessantly and piteously, her open lips getting a mouthful of sea spray when she and Ben weren't madly kissing and fused together. All the while, Rey made pathetic sounds:_

_"Uhhhh... Huhhh... Uhhh-huhhhh... Guhh! Mmmm... Mmhmmm... B-Ben..." Her thighs trembled, her walls clenched and arching her back into him, Rey finally yelled out:_

_"BEN!" She came hard, exploded all around him, and he quickly followed with a growl, ejaculating deep inside her. _

_Continuing in their kissing, Rey only vaguely wondered if Finn had seen her having wild sex with her supposedly sworn enemy... _

* * *

_The scene shifted. Rey was on the island of Ahch-To, on a beautiful and rare sunny day. Her mind wandered back fondly to how she had kissed Ben, her... husband, goodbye just that morning, before he left for a mission on Prakith. Going in search of Force sensitives was a risky business these days, in the aftermath of the collapse of the First Order, and Rey desperately wanted to go with him. But Ben had declined, placing a hand on her swollen belly. _

_"You have to keep the babies safe," he reminded her. Rey knew he was right. Besides, she had Finn, her first Padawan apprentice, here to look after her. Ben wasn't particularly confident in that prospect, just... satisfied. _

_Now, with her husband mere hours away, Rey took a break from supervising Finn in his lightsaber practice for the two of them to take a walk up to the cliffs and take in the view. The dapple sunlight sparkled on the docile water - another rarity for the ocean planet. _

_Rey had never appreciated sunlight on Jakku, mostly due to the oppressive heat that came with it. This kind of warmth was different - she loved how it stroked her body and filled her up. Having Finn by her side only added to the comfort she felt. _

_"I used to not like the sunlight," Finn expressed, and she turned to look at him bemusedly. "Mostly because there was never enough of it and it didn't overstay its welcome, where I was stationed on First Order warships..." His voice softened. "Not like here. Here, the sunlight makes everything warm... and luminous."_

_Rey felt Finn's fingers trace a delicate pattern over the exposed skin on her shoulder, and goosebumps bubbled up on her flesh. She turned to face him fully, mouth slightly parted and her eyes wide. Finn just smiled dashingly at her._

_He was drifting close now... too close, and though Rey's gaze was wary, she found her brain growing fuzzy as she was drawn to him. His face hovered inches over hers... Rey closed her eyes and let out a shuddering gasp just before Finn's mouth covered hers, silencing her with a feathery kiss. _

_The kiss quickly deepened almost of its own accord, Rey craning her neck back almost to meet him. After a minute or two, she remembered with a shock just who she was kissing - a man who was not her husband - and she pulled away in mortified shame. "No!" she yelped, and she let out a shaky breath as she refused to look at her apprentice. "I shouldn't have done that." _

_Finn said nothing, did not move to apologize for his boldness. Instead, he spun Rey to face him. Gripping her by the shoulders, he pulled Rey in tight and kissed her again right on the mouth, more fiercely this time. _

_"Mmmm..." Rey purred for just a parsec, her lashes fluttering shut, and then she twisted away. "D... don't," she stammered, wiping at her mouth. "Please..." Her voice was far too weak. _

_Like an animal sniffing dwindling blood in its prey, Finn took Rey in his arms and kissed her once again. She squirmed, whimpering against his insistent lips, as she felt his hands wander lower... Finn's calloused palms dared to cup the perfectly shaped globes of her ass, first one cheek and then the other. Rey didn't move to counter him, allowing him to touch her like this. _

_Finn gave one of Rey's arse cheeks a squeeze, then a playful slap. Aroused, her resistance all but killed, Rey raised her leg high, swinging it around to his waist. Hoisting her up by her buttocks, Finn swept Rey off her feet and grandly carried her away into one of the huts, where he proceeded to ravish her... Rey closed her eyes and flung her arms about his neck as Finn seduced her... _

* * *

Rey woke with a start and in a cold sweat, gasping, her knickers almost permanently damp. Throwing back the slightly saturated sheets - she had really come hard in both wet dreams - she sat up for the rest of that night and pondered what her subconsciousness - what the Force - had been telling her. Smiling, she came to an answer...

Rey found Finn quickly and moved to convey to him that answer early the next morning. He was stonily quiet, taking her explanation in silently, but his eyes softened encouragingly with every word she spoke. More than once, Rey was on the verge of tears:

"Yes, I probably would still be with Ben, had he lived... but the Force would have tormented me as I made my choice. It would have been agony to choose between you. To the point that, if you had ever tempted me into bed... I would have done it. Let you seduce me. But Ben is gone now, and there will always be a hole in my heart where he should be. But you can and do fill that hole, Finny. You are _not_ a second choice. I love you as much as I did Ben. Not more, not less. Our love is different, but just as strong."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Finn's large paws of hands took Rey's face tenderly as he bent to kiss her lips passionately. Smiling against his plundering mouth, Rey kissed him back happily. She was in love, and she and her Finny were together again...


	8. Chapter 8: Hillside Picnics and Haunted

**Chapter 8: Hillside Picnics and Haunted Nights**

It was a lazy, slow Sunday morning. Rey and Finn emerged from their shared hut just after sunrise. Arms looped through each other and carrying between them a picnic basket, master and apprentice strolled happily down to the grassy knolls for an early breakfast picnic, confident that the younglings would not wake for another few hours.

Amidst the tall grasses, Rey and Finn talked and kissed and enjoyed just being together. After they ate, Finn got the crazy idea in his head to tame one of the thala sirens, to impress his lover. That meant sneaking up on the beast and attempting to climb on its back. The thala siren lowed in indignation and bucked Finn back into the grasses. Watching from a distance, Rey laughed... until she realized that Finn wasn't getting up. Eyes fretful, heart in her throat, she held up her skirts on one of Leia's sundresses and ran to him.

"Finny..." She reached him, bending down and shaking him. "Finny...?"

Turning him over, Rey only found Finn laughing hysterically. Letting out an affronted shriek, Rey slapped at him, and he caught her wrist. Pulling her down, Rey and Finn rolled down the steep embankment, laughing, the combined sound ringing like sweet music.

They finally came to rest right back on the picnic blanket, with Rey astride Finn's hips. Dipping her head, Rey captured Finn's lips with hers and soon their mouths fell open as tongues pushed through.

Finn reverently peeled the beautiful sundress off of Rey, the streaming sunlight kissing her creamy breasts. He wasted no time in taking one pert, pink nipple into his mouth and Rey keened into him with a moan.

"Finn... Oh, Finny... please... please, take me..."

The apprentice quickly moved to obey his master. Billowing up her skirts, Finn worked his pants off and his equipment free. Grinning devilishly, he thrust up into her and Rey snapped her pelvis against his eagerly. The two Jedi bounced and jiggled against each other feverishly, Rey yipping and squeaking.

"Oooh! Oooh... Uhhhh... Yes... Finny..."

Finn sped to completion rather quickly, cumming deep inside her walls. The look on his face as he orgasmed made Rey come undone. "Finny!" She came all around him with a sigh, swooning across him.

* * *

The pair were still maddeningly naked in their hut that night, where they had spent many more hours quietly making love. It had been a risk at first, to give in to their lust while not aboard the _Falcon_, but they had managed to keep it down for the sake of their little ones.

Rey was strewn across Finn, her brown hair fanning out and looking blissfully content. Finn stroked her head, kissed her face and wondered all over again how he had gotten so lucky.

Eyes lazily scanning the room in that halfway land between dreaming and wakefulness, Finn's gaze stopped on the blue man sitting in the corner chair...

Wait...

He jolted sharply, cradling Rey's sleeping form close so as not to wake her. He had to bite down on his tongue to keep from letting out a scream. Ben Solo was sitting in his and Rey's bedroom, almost casually.

Remembering this man, and all he had done to him and his girl made Finn clutch Rey possessively as he glowered at Ben. The beautiful Jedi girl whimpered slightly in her sleep, and Finn eased, but only slightly so as not to leave her in discomfort.

"What do you want?"

"Not a fight, certainly," Ben held up his hands in surrender. "I only want to ask you to do something for me. One final order."

Finn snarled, and had to tell himself not to clutch Rey so tightly again. "And that would be?" Except from Rey, his Jedi Master and beloved, he was done taking orders from anyone.

Ben's eyes took on a vulnerable quality just then, pleading. "Please take care of her."

Finn eyed him mistrustfully for just one more moment, then he nodded slowly. Looking into his eyes, he could see a glimmer of the man with whom Rey had fallen in love. Finn had to admit... he would have liked to have known this man.

"I will."

Ben smiled gratefully. "Thank you, FN... ahhh... Finn." Then he faded away on the air.


	9. Chapter 9: Happily Ever After

**Chapter 9: Happily Ever After**

The bile stung Rey's throat as she raised her head from the toilet in the fresher on board the _Falcon_. The aftertaste made her wince, and she shakily got to her feet. This was the seventh time in as many days that she had needed to shut herself up in the fresher and hurl. Finn naturally had been concerned, and she had tried to ease his worries by chalking it up as a bad stomach bug, something she ate.

Exiting the fresher, and coming down the gangplank, she swayed suddenly and leaned on one of the supports to keep her balance, a hand instinctively going to her stomach.

That was when Rey felt something move... _inside_ her. Just as a new, unfamiliar presence in the Force brushed up against her aura.

Rey swallowed hard, as her heart suddenly ceased to beat. Clarity descended on her like an angel from above and without warning, she let out a happy sob.

She was pregnant... with her Finny's baby...

Rey seemed to fly up the stone steps to the ring of huts, where she found Finn serving up the Padawans with their morning meal, and wearing an apron to complete the picture. Beaming, Rey grabbed for his hands and dragged him just outside the door, where the flap of wampa skin over the entryway concealed them. Rey thought she heard Temiri get out a saucy remark. She ignored it, as, eyes wide, she guided Finn's hands to her belly.

"Do you feel it?" she demanded. She could detect the slight fluttering in her stomach. Finn must have too, for he snapped his hand back with a gasp. His Force essence glowed with stunned hope.

"Are you... can you be...?"

Rey nodded, radiant, tears glistening. "I'm pregnant, Finny."

Momentary silence. And then...

Finn was tilting Rey's head back and kissing her wildly on the mouth again and again. Humming giddily, Rey threw her arms around him and he lifted her off her feet, spinning her around as they started laughing. Setting her down, they shared another long, chaste kiss.

"Rey..." Eyes shining, Finn dropped to his knees, kissing her belly once. She beamed lovingly down at him, but then drew both hands to her mouth in a gasp of astonishment as Finn suddenly pulled a ring from his pocket.

"Rey... sweet Rey... I have loved you from the moment I set eyes on you. I am beyond honored that you are carrying our baby. Will you do me the honor of being my wife, if you'll have me?"

Rey had tears streaming down her face as she nodded eagerly. "Of _course_ I will!" she wept, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him again.

* * *

Rey Skywalker and Finn married right there on the cliffs of Ahch-To. C-3PO was flown in expressly from Coruscant to give the bride away. General Poe Dameron proudly officiated in marrying his two best friends. All of Finn and Rey's younglings were present - Temiri was the ring bearer and little Stella was the flower girl.

Poe blessed the couple, and Rey shakingly took Finn's hand as she stood before him in Leia Organa's former wedding dress. For the last time, she told herself that they were doing the right thing, marrying for the sake of the baby (she still wasn't showing yet, but the Padawans knew - Lyla had cried when Rey and Finn had sat them all down and told them Master Skywalker was expecting a child). And she and Finn were getting married because they were hopelessly in love with each other.

Poe pronounced her and Finn man and wife, and then Finn slowly lifted back her veil. Rey smiled weakly at him, blushing furiously and deeply shy, holding back just a bit as Finn bent close to her.

And then her new husband closed the gap and kissed her, and Rey had no more doubts. There was only Finn, and the scent of the dying roses in her bridal bouquet...

* * *

Rey gasped sharply as Finn slammed into her again. She rolled over even further onto her side, balancing on her now stuck-out hips, opening her legs wide to grant her husband better access. She felt Finn's wonderfully talented hands dip from groping her breasts to cupping the stretched, taut skin of her swollen belly.

"Mine..." Finn growled with pride, against her pink lips amidst a deep kiss. Another thrust. Below them, their bed in the captain's quarters on the _Falcon_ squeaked in protest. Finn managed to hit her sweet spot, the spot that drove her mad and Rey clutched him close with a hiss.

"Fuck, Finny!" she squeaked.

"Trying to," he grunted gamely. At last, his entire body seized and Rey felt him empty himself inside of her. Dragging his face down to hers, she kissed him deeply, smiling adoringly once they broke apart.

"Good morning," she crooned.

Finn chuckled, pecked her lips again. "Good morning, little desert flower." Bending his face close to her stomach, he kissed Rey's belly button and murmured, "And good morning to you, too, peanut. It's Daddy."

Rey threw back her head and laughed. "Baby likes Daddy's voice..."

"... but not more than Mommy's, I bet," Finn winked.

She swatted him. "Shut up. This isn't a lightsaber duel."

Finn kissed her deeply again. "Whatever you say, love." Clambering out of bed, he tossed his wife her white Jedi robes. "Come on, we'd better get up there before Temiri wakes the whole camp with Revellie again. I'll help you dress."

"Because you were so helpful in undressing me." Rey wiggled her eyebrows at him, and Finn hooted.

Dressing, in between stealing a kiss or two, Finn and Rey walked up to the stone huts at the top of the island, hand-in-hand. They met Temiri over on Shaved Rock Ridge (all quiet, nothing to report) and then entered the Big Hut to take morning meal with the other Padawans. Once breakfast was done, Rey led the whole Jedi Academy out to the grassy knolls. Spreading out a blanket, she daintily took a seat, rubbing her pregnant stomach and contenting herself to watch lightsaber practice. She was finally needing to slow down, and wouldn't be an active participant in training until after the baby was born. Rey watched her husband with pride as he dynamically took over the proceedings.

"All right, Padawans... show me Form IV!"

As the younglings took their stance, Rey could only smile in utter happiness. She was married to and pregnant by a man who loved her, and training the next generation of Jedi. And though she had lost her first love, she somehow knew that Ben was still and would always be with her.

The galaxy was at peace and in balance. Rey and Finn Skywalker would make sure of that.


End file.
